An Indian expatriate in the United Arab Emirates and his wife have pardoned a driver whose car struck and killed their 22-month-old son in the emirate of Sharjah last week, according to a report by Gulf News.
The child, identified as Alan Rumi, died in what authorities described as a freak accident on Wednesday while visiting his father in the UAE with his mother from the southern Indian state of Kerala, the newspaper reported.
Police earlier confirmed the accident occurred after 7 p.m.
According to the parents, the incident took place in a sandy parking area near their residential building in Muwaileh, not on a main road.
The child’s mother said she had gone to dispose of garbage in the sandy lot where trash bins are kept while her husband was at work in Dubai.
She said the child was in a playful mood and broke free as she was throwing the rubbish away.
A neighbor, who had parked his car there, was taking it out at the same time and could not stop in time, resulting in the child being struck, she said.
“I couldn’t catch hold of him. He was too close to the car. The driver couldn’t have seen him. It was all of a sudden. Neither of us could do anything,” the mother said, recalling the incident.
She said the child was knocked down and the driver rushed them to a nearby private hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance.
Doctors there referred the child to a government hospital, but despite being transferred by ambulance, he could not be saved and died of internal injuries, the report said.
The parents said their son was laid to rest in Dubai the next day before they returned to India.
They said that before leaving the UAE, they clarified their position to authorities after learning the driver had been taken into custody for questioning.
“When we got to know that he was taken into custody for interrogation that night, I informed the police that we do not want to complain against him. We have also given it in writing,” the father was quoted as saying.
“Our loss is our loss. We cannot replace it, but we do not want to put another family in grief over something that happened unknowingly.”
It was not immediately known how the parents’ decision may affect the case.
Sharjah Police said they had completed their investigation and referred the case to the Public Prosecution for further action.
The police also urged parents and drivers to exercise caution to avoid similar accidents.
The couple said the visit was meant to be their family’s first Ramadan together in the UAE. They had planned to extend their stay to celebrate Eid and their son’s second birthday on April 23.
They said they are slowly coming to terms with the loss.
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